OBVIOUS CONFESSION COMING… I’M TOTALLY OVERWHELMED. Have I mentioned that before? It turns out that managing four kids under the age of six is hard, especially when you don’t get to sleep at night. I know you know that. The silly thing is, I didn’t know that. Or, I guess somehow I thought it wouldn’t be. But when I saw my own basket at Amazon.com the other day, full of books like “Scream-Free Parenting” and “Happiest Toddler on the Block: How to Eliminate Tantrums…”, I knew I was in deep.
It’s been a stressful summer with the ups and downs that you guys understand all too well. One minute the kids are tearing around the house screaming “give it baaaaack!” The next, they’re all outside riding bikes and screaming again, “weeee!” Yesterday while Violet napped in the stroller, her big sisters and brother zoomed across the driveway, careening into the grass and helping each other back out, delighted with themselves each time. “Watch me!”
The sun is shining, the afternoon breeze is heavy with the scent of honey and huge birds circle high in the evergreens above us. It’s the kind of moment when you throw your head back and just say, “thank you, God.”
After all the fussing earlier in the day, I let them play for too long outside so dinner was late. But here’s what saved us: a fast dinner that everyone ate, and one I felt good about giving them. Yes Violet was screaming for her own dinner by the time those last bites were taken, with me reaching for plates and George protesting as he scooped up his fourth helping, “I eat! I eat!” I don’t blame the little guy. This stuff was really good but bath time waits for no one, especially a mom who’s had a day like this one.
And, breathe.
We got the idea for stovetop pasta and cheese from Martha Stewart, but simplified and added a few good-for-you tricks too. The result is a creamy, rich and tasty dish done in 15 minutes. There are secret ingredients and three updates I made on our end.
Secret ingredients:
- one egg lightly beaten (don’t put it in the hot pasta without beating first — it’ll scramble!)
- a teaspoon of mustard (zing!)
Healthy, kid-friendly updates:
- use any kind of short, whole-wheat pasta (easier for kids to eat, plus it’s full of fiber)
- skip the breadcrumbs step (it’s a pain to toast breadcrumbs in a separate pan and young kids will never miss them)
- add veggies (we used organic sweet peas, but kale, shredded carrots or spinach would also be great)
15-minute homemade macaroni & cheese
The hot pasta heats the veggies, melts the cheese and cooks the egg, which works as a nice binder to bring the whole thing together.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 box any short pasta, preferably whole-wheat
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon mustard (any variety)
- 2 cups shredded cheese (any variety, even a mix is great)
- 1–2 cups any fresh or frozen vegetables, chopped (spinach, kale, peas, shredded carrots…)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Bring pasta water to a boil and add salt. Cook pasta according to instructions MINUS 2 minutes. Drain pasta in colander but SAVE about 1/2 cup of your cooking water.
- Return to pot and add lightly beaten egg, mustard, cheese and vegetables. Stir until creamy, pouring 1/4 – 1/2 cup of cooking water in to liquify and melt the cheese. Just add a little at a time. Then sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
Stupid question, but if we just stir in frozen peas f.e., don’t they need to cook for few minutes? Or does the cheese need that much time to melt and get creamy? 🙂
Hi Marija! Not stupid at all. The peas will cook in the hot pasta, and the cheese doesn’t need more than a minute to get creamy. Put it all in together and just stir. If it’s not quite creamy enough you could add 1/4 cup of cooking water (so RESERVE this ahead of time, before you dump the pasta water). You could also keep the burner on the lowest setting for a couple of minutes while you incorporate everything.
I did none of those though, and it worked great.
Thank you, I have made it today and it was great, just forgot to put egg at the end not at the begining. That’s what happens when little ones run around. Love your recipes though!
This was a hit here!! Two kids, no husband required an easy meal ( two kids probably sounds like a vacation to you) and this was perfect and leftovers for everyone to take to work/daycare tomorrow!! Thank you!
Great to hear, Alison! And you are cracking me up. I do find that any time even one of the kids is elsewhere (with grandparents, etc.) it DOES feel like a total vacation. Except that I constantly catch myself worrying that I haven’t seen them in the last 10 minutes, with things like “Wait, where’s George?” on repeat in my brain… Anyway, glad this one’s a keeper!
2 TABLESPOONS of salt? Really?
Or is kosher salt something different from ordinary salt?- I have never heard of it before.
Hi Steph — The salt goes in the water before you add the noodles. It just gives the pasta a hint of flavor, cooked all the way through. It’s the way all Italians make pasta and don’t worry, you’re not really eating 2 tablespoons of salt. As for as salt you add to the dish itself, just sprinkle a bit on at the end, only as much as you like.
And you can use any kind of salt. I like coarse kosher salt for this kind of thing (and fine sea salt for our table salt) because it dissolves evenly and has a nice flavor. But really, any salt will do. If you use fine salt though, use less because you’ll have more salt in each tablespoon. (Finely ground salt has less air taking up space.)
What brand of whole wheat pasta do you use? I’ve tried a few and didn’t like them. I love Trader joes WW pasta, but they only carry it in fusilli and penne. I’m excited to try this recipe!
Thanks
Hi Fenella! I’m not partial to any one kind; they’re all a bit hard to get used to bc the flavor is definitely different from regular past. BUT if that’s too much, my favorite baby step is using one of the blended whole-wheat brands; we always have Ronzoni “Smart Taste” on hand around here. That’s the only brand I seek out again and again; otherwise I’ll pick up whatever WW pasta is on sale and comes in one of the shorter pasta lengths.
Is the egg raw? is that ok to eat or does it cook with the hot pasta? This sounds great & love the ease of it!!
Hi Missy. Yes, the egg cooks in the hot pasta. That’s why you need to beat it a little before you pour it in–otherwise you’d have chunks of scrambled egg in the pasta. Try it; a great trick for adding thickness and richness!
Hi, just wondering what weight of pasta a ‘box’ is? Most of our pasta in Australia comes in packets of 250 or 500 grams.
Hi Margaret! The weight varies from brand to brand and style to style (elbow, penne, etc.) but it’s about about 400 grams, so I’d say go with the 500 grams size. Thanks for your question and hope you try this one out.
I love your blog! thank you for so many great recipes !!!!!!
Hello! I just came across your website and have noticed on the last two pasta recipes I’ve read that you say to cook the pasta minus two minutes. Why don’t you cook it for the full time?
Hi Jenn! For recipes where you’re cooking pasta first then mixing with sauce (nearly all of them), I like to let the pasta finish cooking in the sauce so it soaks up all the flavor there, without getting too squishy. The pasta remains al dente, firm to the bite, and even tastier. It’s a trick I learned when we lived in Italy and never fails.
When I made this, it tasted great, but the cheese was very stringy. What’s the trick to getting smooth, creamy cheese?
Hi Tammy! Perhaps the cheese needed to be melted a bit more. Or you could add more cooking liquid to the pan and keep stirring until you get the effect you want. Try again and let us know how it goes? Thanks for your note!
Yay it took 15 minutes to make!
I made too much noodles however and had to scramble and shred more cheese as I was mixing. The only thing I would do differently next time is add more veggies and less noodles.
Sounds good, Rae!